Thursday, July 2, 2015

Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab: St. John's Eve

purchased and reviewed by ThoraSTooth

BPAL Scent of the Day:  St. John's Eve (Limited Edition, 2009) -- A summer bonfire, with frankincense and myrrh, bay rum, and white rose.

In the bottle, St. John's Eve smells like bay rum that's been filtered through something that took off all its sharp edges.  Sniffing deeply, I get just a hint of soft white rose.

On my skin, it's all tangy smoke over bay rum.  As it dries down, though, the resins come up.  The tangy smoke subsides to a tickle of spicy smoke in the background, while the rose just contributes a light, bright smoothness.  The bay rum is a warm, prickly, cinnamon-herb note that plays very well with the frankincense while the myrrh lies under everything like a net, catching and keeping it in mid-air rather than having it sink into darkness.

Every year I ask myself why I don't wear this one more often, because it really is sumptuous, like burning ritual incense over a hickory fire.  It's light, with not a lot of sillage, but it lasts for many hours on my skin.

No comments:

Post a Comment